


Out of Order

by kyleauxren



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Gratuitous droid OCs, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:54:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22487470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyleauxren/pseuds/kyleauxren
Summary: "I don't care if you win."Finn knew he was lying, but Hux didn't.One year later, after a galaxy-wide revolution and a faked death, Hux has another opportunity to help Finn and Poe with something bigger than themselves. But with Kylo Ren out of the picture, it's harder to convince himself he's doing it out of spite.
Relationships: Finn/Armitage Hux, Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux, Poe Dameron/Finn, Poe Dameron/Finn/Armitage Hux
Comments: 24
Kudos: 120





	1. Prologue

One year after the Battle of Exegol.

One year since Finn and Poe, after running halfway around the galaxy with Rey and Chewie, had rallied the Resistance on Ajan Kloss to fight the impossible battle over the Sith world. They were exhausted, sleep-deprived, running on adrenaline and desperation. The celebrations afterward felt like a dream, like suddenly they would wake up and it would vanish- but it was real. They had done the impossible. Sorrow, joy, and relief were felt in equal measure, grieving for lives lost and celebrating those saved. It felt suspended in time–both a moment and a millennia ago. So much had happened since, it was dizzying.

Though they came out victorious, the Resistance and the galaxy at large still wore the trauma of the war like an open wound. Decimated on Crait, cut down even further on Exegol, everyone felt the profound loss of families, friends, and allies. It was impossible to go back to “normal life” when they had no such thing to begin with.

It hadn’t taken long in the aftermath of the final battle for Poe to pull Finn aside and confess his feelings. He told him he loved him, was so terrified of losing him, wished he had told him sooner but that with the war it never seemed like the right time. Finn remembered seeing tears in his eyes–the first time he had seen Poe cry in front of him.

Needless to say, Finn felt the same–but with everything happening so quickly during the war, he had never had time to sit down and examine his feelings. Not knowing what to say, he acted on instinct, pulling Poe in and kissing him. It felt natural, his lips seeming to move on their own against Poe’s. He felt Poe smile against his lips and the air of his breathless, disbelieving laughter against his cheek. He was in love.

Soon after that, he confessed to both Rey and Poe what he had struggled to say on Pasaana: the same power in Rey had been calling to him as well. Rey was glad to take him on as a sort of apprentice, passing on what Luke and Leia had taught her about the Force.

He found the Force truly sang to him through the defensive and healing arts, and though the training was fulfilling, he didn’t plan on devoting his life to the force like Rey. The path of a Jedi warrior wasn’t suited for him. After 23 years of being groomed and controlled by the First Order, he wanted to forge his own path, free of any doctrines or orders.

Rey, who had grown up with no such regime or guidance, embraced the doctrine of the Jedi, and focused on learning more about the history of the Order and the Force. She was picking up where Luke’s research had left off, carefully transcribing and adding to his writings. More often than not nowadays, she was away: tracking down old relics and records, everywhere from Tatooine to Coruscant. As much as he tried, Finn could never fully placate the tiny voice in the back of his head that continued to worry about her. It was a habit.

Rey didn’t know where the future would take her, she admitted to Finn one day. They were both so young, they only had each other and the Resistance. There was no Jedi Order, no archive, no New Republic to go to for answers. She thought about following in Luke’s footsteps with an Academy, but the concept was so daunting, she had no idea where to begin. She wanted to make sure the tales of the Jedi would be available for future generations, but couldn’t help but feel like she could be doing something more substantial than research and transcription. Finn had reassured her, reminded her they had plenty of time ahead of them, but he couldn’t help but share some of her anxieties.

Poe, at least, seemed to have some idea of what the future held for him. He had taken naturally to leading the Resistance, both in and out of combat. They were in the middle of building a more permanent base on Ajan Kloss, now that they were no longer under the looming threat of the First Order. There was still work to be done—the Resistance operated as a vigilante force, tracking down the remnants of the fallen regime and helping liberation efforts on formerly occupied systems. They didn’t want the galaxy to be caught off-guard by another rising power in the shadows. They had to be vigilant, looking out for those looking to fill the power vacuum left by the absence of the New Republic and the First Order.

Finn was happy to lead alongside Poe. They saw less direct combat, nowadays, but they were both excellent strategists. Finn had more patience for the interpersonal and diplomatic parts of the job and had secured dozens of allies for the Resistance the past year. Their numbers had exploded, with several systems pledging their support in the wake of Exegol.

For a long time, they had been running the base primarily out of the Tantive IV, hooking up water and electricity from the ship’s systems. This allowed the base to be packed up and evacuated quickly if needed. Now, without the looming threat of the First Order over their head, they were able to settle in, building more permanent structures to support more and more people. Barracks, a proper medbay and a shipyard, among other things. Rose, recently promoted to Commander, worked with them, often taking over duties when they were absent. She was fantastic at organization and logistics, leading the expansion efforts.

There was an unspoken anxiety between all of them, though, the inevitability that the Resistance wouldn’t last forever. With the way things were going, it was like to evolve into something different, something new. And what would they do then? Poe wasn’t a politician, had no desire to be. Neither did Finn.

After years of being told what to do, how to think, having every moment of his life accounted for, the uncertainty of the future was almost overwhelming to Finn. With things beginning to calm down, if only just barely, it was nerve-wracking to realize he had an entire lifetime ahead of him that he could do whatever he wanted with.

But he wasn’t alone, at least.

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with me out of obligation,” Poe told him, one night. “I love you, but if there’s something out there in the galaxy that’s calling you–”

Finn cut him off with a kiss, then withdrew, shaking his head.

“I don’t want to be anywhere else but beside you.”

And it was true. As much as he wanted to discover his place in the galaxy, he wanted to do it next to Poe. That, he was sure of.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short chapter, this is basically just a teaser lmao. I have a more substantial chapter almost finished and the majority of this fic planned and outlined, so I'm hoping to have semi-regular updates.
> 
> Wonderful art by @gilleboll on Twitter!


	2. Bait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Finn was in a good mood. He and Poe were on their way back to Ajan Kloss, returning from a mission tying up some loose ends on Capisdame—a planet the Resistance was helping to liberate from the vestiges of the First Order. They had been working to prevent escalation into full-blown conflict and ensure a smooth transition while the last of the Order was essentially chased away. 

From their latest meeting, it seemed things were going well. It was only a matter of weeks before things stabilized completely—the new acting government thanked the Resistance for their help and assured them they could handle the rest on their own, leaving them with the offer of a more formal alliance once things were settled. 

It would be their last real mission for a while. There were no pressing concerns outside the system they could respond to, and a lot of internal work was piling up. They needed to sort out new recruits, organize resource donation and continue construction of infrastructure for their growing base, among other things. Now that they had finished their work on Capisdame, the boring, managerial tasks on Ajan Kloss would likely consume most of their time. 

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Finn was looking forward to spending some downtime with Poe and the rest of the Resistance after a few hectic weeks. Maybe he could train more in the Force with Rey; he was excited to show her the progress he had made with the training droid and the blast visor. Or he could continue his piloting lessons with Poe. There was so much he wanted to do, wanted to learn now that the war was over. 

“I’m thinking about getting some new parts for BB-8 once we’re back on base,” Poe said, lifting the Falcon out of Capisdame’s atmosphere. “A few upgrades.”

At the moment, BB-8 was in the back of the Falcon running some diagnostics, and Poe had the hushed tone of a parent planning a birthday gift for their child. 

“Oh, yeah?” Finn asked. 

“Mhm. a new sensor array, maybe? I’ve been looking at the RX-f90 series, it’d double his current long-range vision,” Poe said, typing in the coordinates for Ajan Kloss.

“I thought you just upgraded his sensors last year?” Finn said, flipping the switches to prepare for lightspeed in the order Poe had taught him. 

“Yeah?” Poe asked, glancing at Finn, not understanding his point. 

Finn shook his head. “Nevermind.”

Just as they were about to make the jump, a shrill beeping tone emitted from the dashboard—a notification from the ship’s long-range comm unit. 

Poe glanced at the ID displayed on the console. “It’s Rose,” he said, hesitating for a moment before accepting the call. Sure enough, a small, flickering blue hologram of Rose materialized in front of them.

“What’s up?” Finn asked. It was odd that she was calling, they’d be back at the base in a few hours. They tried to avoid long-range communications whenever necessary, to avoid interception.

“Hey,” said Rose, sounding a bit out of breath, like she had rushed to the holocall console. “We’ve got some new intel on the honeypot.”

Both Finn and Poe sat up straighter. “Someone went for it?” Poe asked.  
  
The honeypot in question was an abandoned First Order space station, one that had remained hidden for months after Exegol. It had been built for data storage, housing thousands of files of top-secret First Order information. They found it almost by chance, investigating the coordinate logs on one of the command ships that had fallen on Exegol.

After finally managing to remotely disable the automatic security, they were able to make their way in and download the data, backing it up safely on their own servers in Ajan Kloss. Unfortunately, the data had been heavily encrypted, but if they could crack it, it would provide a mountain of information on First Order technology, research, and perhaps locations of other hidden stations. 

It was Rose’s idea to leave the station intact and wipe the original databanks, replacing them with false encrypted data and a tracking program. If someone was out there trying to rebuild the First Order, it would be one of their first stops to retrieve those databanks. The station was well hidden, hard to get to, and not near any civilized system, which made it an unlikely target for pirates or looters. No, anyone there now was there because of those files. 

“Yes,” said Rose, grimly. “Upsilon-class First Order command ship, logs show the security was disabled with a valid Commander’s medallion. We tracked them back to a planet called Dachiri on the edge of the Unknown Regions.”

“Never heard of it,” Finn said.

Poe typed the name into the navigational interface. There were no results.

“Same here. Not listed on the map either.” 

“I couldn’t find a lot of information on it, looks like it’s just a small outpost,” Rose said. “I have coordinates, though, of course–are you ready for them?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” said Poe. Finn watched the screen over his shoulder as Rose read out the coordinates and Poe typed them in. After a few moments of processing, it displayed a summary of the calculated route.

“Not too far from here. We’ll go check it out.” Poe said. He glanced at Finn. “Right?”  
  
“Right.”

It was only a matter of time before whoever had the databanks realized it had been tampered with, and that someone was onto them. They had to act quickly.

Poe began setting the route, changing the destination from Ajan Kloss to Dachiri. 

“Do you know anything else?” Finn asked.

“Well, the station security was disabled twelve hours ago, and the tracking data updated on Dachiri two hours ago. The databanks haven’t left the planet, as far as we know. BB-8 is already hooked up to the tracking program, once you land, he should be able to guide you right to it.”

“Alright,” Poe said, nodding. The hyperspace coordinates were set and ready to go. “Navcomm says we’ll be there in three hours. We’ll update as soon as we can.” 

“Alright. Good luck,” she added, the slightest hint of nervousness in her voice. 

“Copy that. See you soon,” Finn said. 

Rose nodded, and the hologram flickered out. 

“Well,” Poe sighed, looking at Finn. “Let’s see what these bastards are up to.” 

His hand was on the hyperspace lever. Finn put his hand next to his and pulled it in tandem, and the familiar, mesmerizing blue light of hyperspace surrounded them.

* * *

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much they could do during the journey besides wait. They had scoured the holonet and the ship’s archives for anything related to Dachiri, but had found very little.

“Double checked the ship’s computer, nothing. Anything else on the holonet?” Finn asked, walking into the seating area from the cockpit. They’d be there in just a few minutes. 

Poe sighed. “Nope,” he said, setting his datapad on the holochess table and rubbing his eyes. “I can’t look at this thing any longer.” 

It wasn’t entirely unmentioned, but they had found very surface-level information about it. A small planet orbiting a red sun, habitable and home to a diverse number of species. No references to any valuable resources, First Order connections, or any noteworthy events at all. It just seemed like one world out of millions, an insignificant outpost, like Rose had said.

They had both avoided talking about the core of the mission itself, focusing on research and preparation to stave off the anxiety. But there was nothing else to do now. Finn sat down next to him. 

“What do you think this means?” Finn asked. 

“The planet or the—”  
  
“The databanks.”

Poe shrugged, looking almost lifeless.

“I don’t know,” he said quietly. “It only takes one commander to remember the coordinates and show up there with a ship. But...” 

Poe trailed off, but they had the same thought, the same fear. That some contingency, like the group that rose in the ashes of the Empire to found the First Order, had survived and was planning its next move. 

“We beat them twice before. We could do it again,” Finn said.

“I’m just tired,” Poe said, quietly. It felt like a confession. 

“Yeah,” Finn agreed. They were both more than willing to fight, but the possibility of a new threat emerging when they had finally had the chance to rest seemed like a cruel joke. 

“I don’t understand them. That’s my problem,” Poe said, after a few moments. 

“What do you mean?”  
  
“Who did the First Order benefit, exactly? Besides war profiteers. People like you didn’t have a choice, but the rest of them, I just…” Poe stumbled over his words and sighed. “Even the high command was just pawns under Snoke—or, Palpatine, I guess. Why fight for a system that doesn’t care about you? What good is power for power’s sake? How self-deluded do you have to be to believe you’re the good guys?” 

Finn shrugged. “Delusion and propaganda. There was no unauthorized access to outside information on the ship or the base, everything was… controlled.”

Poe looked confused. “Even for the higher-ups?”

“From what I know, yeah. I mean, I assume the commanders and such had holonet access, but it’s not like you can access much in the Unknown Regions, anyway. It was the whole culture of it, the isolation. It’s easier to believe something when everyone else you’ve known your entire life believes it too.”

Both of them were silent for a moment. 

“We were told... taught that we had been _saved_ as children rather than stolen. From poverty, famine, stuff they all blamed on the New Republic. That they were bringing _peace and prosperity_ to systems the New Republic ignored or subjugated, and that sacrifices were necessary for the greater good of the galaxy. Anything else could be written off as enemy propaganda”

“But you realized it was wrong.” 

“It’s harder to believe you’re doing justice when you’re ordered to fire on civilians,” Finn said, bitterly. 

“It takes a lot of courage to reject that,” Poe said, softly. “To go against what you were taught your entire life.”

“Mm.”

There was a deep, guilty part of Finn’s mind that rejected that. No matter how many people told him, he could never see himself as a hero. His motivation to leave the First Order hadn’t been selfless. He couldn’t bring himself to fire on innocent people, no, but stronger than moral conviction was fear. 

People who went through reconditioning simply disappeared, sometimes for days, sometimes for weeks, then reappeared in their squadron as suddenly as they had left. They were quieter, subdued, didn’t laugh or socialize with the other troopers even if they were sociable beforehand. There was a certain emptiness in the eyes of the reconditioned troopers that always terrified Finn. 

No one ever spoke about it.

Officers were sent to reconditioningas well, more often than Stormtroopers, even–they called it “ _resynchronization therapy_”. A more comfortable term for the same thing, indulging the delusion that they weren’t just as much pawns as the Stormtroopers in the grand scheme of things. 

To Finn, death was preferable to whatever awaited him in the reconditioning suite. He had hardly expected to survive when he saved Poe and ran. 

No one ran from the First Order and lived. That, along with other essential truths, was one of the first things that they had drilled into him as a youngling. It was one of the first he had proven wrong.

Poe’s voice shook him out of his thoughts.

“Do you think we should’ve taken Hux with us?”

“I- _what?_ ”

Poe shrugged.

“He saved our lives, saved the entire galaxy, and he’s probably dead now. Never even got a thank you. I wasn’t even thinking about him when we left, I just… we were focused on saving ourselves.”

Poe hadn’t heard what Hux had told him in the corridor, he realized. The answer still made no sense to him, nor did Hux’s actions in any other light. He clearly hadn’t saved them for the greater good of the galaxy, but no one risked that much out of pure spite. If he was in it purely to save himself, then why didn’t he seem to have any intention of running? Why help them at all?

There was also the fact that Finn knew Hux was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.

It was a feeling. A strong one.

“It just fucks me up sometimes when I think about it. Like, literally all of us would be dead if it wasn’t for him, and we just. Left him. Never even asked why,” Poe continued.

“He wasn’t our responsibility. He made his own decision, decided his own fate,” Finn said.

Poe shrugged despondently. “I just feel bad.”

“You shouldn’t,” Finn said, silently wishing Poe would drop the subject. He didn’t enjoy thinking about Hux, about their escape from the Steadfast. There were too many unanswered questions, including the one Poe had asked him. The memory filled him with uncertainty, the kind of anxiety that made his stomach twist into knots. 

It didn’t matter; he told himself. They couldn’t go back and change anything. They had defeated the First Order, and that was all that mattered. 

Poe looked at him curiously, as if sensing his unease, but said nothing.

As if on cue, BB-8 rolled in, beeping at them that it was time to drop out of hyperspace.

Poe took a steadying breath and glanced at Finn. “Ready?”

Finn nodded back, glad for the distraction.

“Ready.”

* * *

Dachiri was a small, blue-ish gray planet with wisping clouds, an unassuming speck against the red giant it orbited. Finn watched it with a sort of fascination as they closed in. Despite the circumstances, seeing new worlds still entranced him, having been hardly anywhere besides Starkiller or the Finalizer the first 23 years of his life. Still, nothing seemed off about it as they closed in. No giant superweapon was carved into the core of the planet, no star destroyers were lurking nearby. 

Using BB-8’s tracking data, they pinpointed where the signal was originating from, and land in a dingy hangar in a city several kilometers out. The attendant was an Ithorian who seemed utterly uninterested in their presence, but took their credits and uploaded a holomap of the surrounding area to Finn’s datapad when asked. All the better for them. They had prepared an excuse for their visit if needed, but it was better that no one was asking questions. 

Like the planet itself, the town they landed in was unremarkable, a mix of humans and other species shuffling past market stalls and bars, paying them no mind as they went about their business. 

“This feels weird”, Finn muttered as Poe led them into the crowd. 

“Like a trap?"

“Not sure. It just seems like an odd hiding spot. You’d think they’d choose somewhere more remote,” He commented. “Where are we going?”

“To find something to eat, I’m starving,” Poe said. 

“We have ration packs on the Falcon.”  
  
“Those don’t count.”

Finn rolled his eyes. He liked the convenience of the ration packs, but Poe was a surprisinglypicky eater. He knew from experience that he wouldn’t win this argument.

“Alright, fine. Looks like there’s a place over there,” he said, pointing to a large patio with tables about a block away, smoke rising from the middle.

“Perfect,” Poe said, hurrying his step. Finn followed close behind him. 

* * *

Several minutes and a shared bowl of surprisingly-delicious soup later, they were studying the map the hangar attendant had given them. Finn’s datapad had a small holoprojector installed, and it displayed a small topographical landscape over the table, with nearby settlements and other structures labelled. 

“Looks like we’re… here,” Finn said, finding the small blinking light that showed their location, labelled “Quel Adrid”. “BB-8, what direction are the databanks?” 

BB-8 beeped in response, and Poe translated. 

“52 kilometers south, 21 west. So that’s…” 

Poe reached over and toggled the grid overlay, adjusting the units so it was broken into squares of 10 kilometers. His finger traced the lines down 5 and over 2, arriving at… nothing.

“Huh,” Finn remarked. 

The surrounding area, according to the map at least, was mostly flat and rocky. There was no wilderness, caves or hills to hide anything in. It seemed more and more likely that whoever they were pursuing had ditched the databanks and ran, intending to throw them off. Finn hoped desperately that wasn’t the case. 

“I saw a speeder rental on the way over here. Let’s just head over and check it out,” Poe said.

Finn cocked an eyebrow at him, wondering if that was a good idea, but he didn’t have anything better to suggest. It seemed to be either a ditched tracker or an obvious trap, but they didn’t have many other options. 

He shut off the holoprojector and pocketed it, standing up. 

“Well, if we die, I’m blaming you.” 

Poe stood up after him and grinned.

“We’ve done way stupider stuff than this and came out alive. Let’s go." BB-8 beeped excitedly in agreement.

“After you.”


	3. Jek

The speeder they rented was an old RGC model that had certainly seen better days, thick streaks of carbon scoring obscuring the chipped paint. It barely fit the two of them plus BB-8 and made a somewhat worrying sound when started up, but the vendor assured them it was fine. Not that they had much of a choice, anyway. As long as it could stay in one piece for an hour, it would do. 

Finn admired the surrounding landscape as they drove out of the city. The ground was rocky, a cool black terrain that peaked out underneath patches of grass and shrubbery. The sun was starting to set, lighting the atmosphere with hues of pink and gold, rays of light illuminating dust and grass kicked up underneath the speeder. Even unassuming planets like this could be beautiful.

After about a half-hour of driving, the silhouettes of several buildings began to peek out from the horizon. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it looked like it could be a mid-size village. 

Poe slowed the speeder to a halt, still several kilometres out. “Pull up the map again?” He asked. 

Finn pulled out the datapad, toggling on the projection. The compass indicated they were heading towards the tracker, but there was nothing indicated in that direction, where the apparent village stood. 

“Why does this just keep getting weirder,” Poe sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“Hand me the macrobinoculars?” Finn asked. Poe rustled through his bag and handed them to him.

Finn squinted through the macrobinoculars. He couldn’t see anything in detail, but the buildings were a familiar, distinctive shape that Finn recognized from old Rebellion records.

“It looks like an old Imperial base,” he said.

“Are you serious? Give me those,” Poe said, gesturing for the macrobinoculars. Finn handed them over, and Poe held them.

“Shit, you’re right,” Poe said. “There wasn’t any record...”

“-of Imperial activity, even in this sector.” Finn finished his thought. Normally, if the Empire had gone to the trouble of building a base on a planet, there would be at least some record of Imperial activity nearby. 

They were silent for a moment. Poe handed the macrobinoculars back to Finn. 

“Let’s get closer and approach on foot,” he decided.

“Good plan,” Finn replied. There was no point in speculating. They’d be there soon enough. 

* * *

They parked the speeder several minutes later, carefully obscured behind a large patch of shrubbery within walking distance of the base. It was nighttime on Dachiri now. The darkness would provide cover, but it was starting to get colder. Finn held his jacket tight across his body. 

There was a wall enclosing at least part of the base, but large sections of it were missing or crumbling, providing an easy way in. The unmistakably Imperial buildings that would have looked sleek and imposing decades ago had been worn down by the years and the weather. In contrast to the walls, however, the buildings seemed to have been maintained and added onto with more recent modifications, creating an odd mish-mash of architecture. There were stone paths with streetlights lining the way, making it look like more of a village than a military base. The streets were empty, but it had gotten cold quickly after the sun had set. Light was shining through the windows of several buildings, so the base clearly wasn't deserted.

“How close are we to the tracker?” Poe asked, zipping up his jacket. BB-8 beeped in response. The databanks were approximately a kilometer past the walls. 

“If we can find somewhere to stake out nearby, we can catch them whenever they go back for it,” Finn said. 

“That’s what I was thinking," Poe said. "Alright, BB-8, show us the way.” 

BB-8 beeped in affirmation and rolled carefully over the remains of the ruined wall. They kept their footsteps light as they snuck behind buildings, ducking under windows and keeping to the shadows as they followed the droid.

After several tense minutes, they were almost to the tracker origin when suddenly BB-8 rolled backward, shaking his head in warning. They pushed their backs tight against the building, staying in the shadows, and held their breath. The next area they’d have to cross was relatively exposed, with nowhere to stay out of sight. Cautiously, BB-8 peaked out and gave an affirmative chirp when it was safe. 

“What was it?” Finn asked when they had finished crossing the gap. 

BB-8 answered. 

“A KX unit- _what_?” Poe said, looking bewildered. “What the hell is this place?” 

“KX unit?” Finn asked. 

“Old Imperial droid. Haven’t been produced since the first Death Star. How the hell do they-”

“Freeze!” 

Both of them whipped around. Someone was pointing a blaster at them, the barrel of which was shaking with badly-concealed nerves. The light of the streetlamps illuminated the person’s face, an ordinary-looking man that could be a few years younger than Finn. 

Poe drew his blaster immediately and pointed it back at him.

“Okay! Okay, sorry, don’t blast me please,” the man said, frightened. He threw his blaster on the ground and held his hands in the air. "Sorry."

Finn and Poe looked at each other, quickly coming to an unspoken agreement. Finn bent down and picked up the blaster, and Poe grabbed the man by the arm, leading him in the direction that had been heading before. 

“This way,” Poe said.

“Um, okay— where are we—" the man asked. 

“Stay quiet if you want to live,” Poe said, jerking him forwards. “BB-8, scan that shed for lifeforms?” 

Following Poe’s gaze, Finn saw a small, dilapidated storage shed in the shadow of the large building they were behind. BB-8 confirmed it was empty. 

Poe tried the door, but the handle wouldn’t budge. “I got it,” Finn said, taking out his vibroblade and sliding it between the door and the wall. It was a primitive lock, and with a bit of effort, he was able to cut through it and let them inside. 

Poe led the man into the shed, and Finn closed the door behind them. It was immediately pitch-black, no windows to let in the light of the street lamps or stars. BB-8 produced a small flashlight from his internal compartment, lighting up part of the cramped room. 

“Alright,” Finn said. “We have some questions."

“Um. Okay,” the man said, looking nervous. He took a step back and rattled something with his foot. Finn winced. 

“Stay still. Who are you?” Poe said.

“I’m Jek,” the man replied. 

All three were silent for a moment.

“And…?” Poe said. 

Jek looked confused. “Um, I’m 21—"

“I don’t— I don’t care about that,” Poe said, bewildered, “what do you _do?_ What were you guarding?” 

“Oh, well, I live here, I help out a lot, well everyone does, uh,” Jek said, rubbing his face nervously. “I wasn’t really... I’m not a guard, not an official one. I’m just used to doing patrols, y’know, a lot of us are, it helps people feel safer and um, normally there’s not anything except wildlife sometimes but I saw you two sneaking around and I—” 

While Jek was rambling, Finn examined the blaster he was holding. It felt oddly familiar in his hands, and as his eyes adjusted to the dim light and he saw the barrel, he realized why. 

“This is a 44C,” Finn said. SE-44C was the full name, the model of blaster pistol assigned to all First Order Stormtroopers. This one had been painted black, the signature white plasteel peeking out of the corners where the black paint had been worn down. 

“Oh, you know blasters? I never really cared that much, that’s just the one they gave me on Starkiller, been carrying it ever since. Not that I really have a chance to use it anymore.” 

“You were a Stormtrooper,” Finn said. 

“Yeah,” Jek said as if it were obvious. “FN-3047.” 

Finn and Poe looked at each other. 

“How did you end up here?” Poe asked.

“Well, I— My squad, we escaped on Starkiller. We took a ship. Can we—can we go somewhere else? This shed is creepy,” Jek asked, wrapping his arms around himself. 

Finn sighed. He didn’t sense any ill intentions from the man, just anxiety. There was no sense treating this as an interrogation. 

“We just have a few more questions,” Finn said, calmly. “Do you want to sit down?”

Jek nodded. “Okay. Okay, yeah.” He looked around, there was a crate behind him. He sat down. 

“I’m sorry we scared you,” Finn said. “We’re here because we think someone might be planning something bad, something that would hurt a lot of people.”

Jek looked concerned. And confused.

“You think that someone wants to hurt us, or that someone here…”

“We can’t say too much right now, but we think someone might be hiding something here. Someone from the First Order. You ran away from the Order, right? When did you run?” Finn asked. 

Jek shifted uncomfortably. “Right after Starkiller. My squad, we— we stole a ship in all the chaos.”

He was telling the truth, Finn could tell. Sometimes they found former Stormtroopers that had nowhere to go after Exegol. Some of them claimed that they were deserters- most were lying. True deserters were rare. Finn couldn’t blame anyone for not running, not with the risks involved, but it was difficult to say which ones were truly remorseful. 

“The First Order is gone now,” Jek continued. “And no one here wants anything to do with it.”

“Then can you help us make sure?” Poe asked. “We need to know what this place is. We followed a tracking signal here, it wasn’t listed on the map.”

“We’re supposed to take new people to Mari," Jek said reluctantly. 

“Is that your leader?”

“I guess.”

Finn and Poe looked at each other. Jek didn’t seem to have any ill intentions, but they had no way to know if “Mari” was trustworthy or not. 

“Were you a Stormtrooper, too?” Jek asked, looking at Finn. “You were familiar with the blaster.”

“Yeah,” Finn said, glancing at the blaster he was holding. He wasn’t quite ready to give it back to Jek yet. “FN-2187.”

Even in the dim light of the shed, Finn could see Jek’s eyes grow wide.

“The deserter?! You’re famous!” 

“I am?” Finn blinked. “I mean- yeah, that’s me, how did—” 

“You were the reason my squad defected,” Jek said, smiling wide. “No one thought it was possible! They kept trying to say nothing had happened but everyone kept talking about it, they started sending people reconditioning but it was too big to stop, they said you had gone insane and stole a TIE fighter and died on Jakku, but then people kept saying they saw you on the battle of Takodana so it became a big conspiracy and—”

“Alright, alright,” Poe hissed, glancing at the door. “Quiet down, we don’t want anyone to hear.” 

Jek looked down, embarrassed. “Sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” Finn and Poe said at once. Finn could tell Poe felt a little bad about snapping at him.

“We can talk more later, hopefully, we’re just…” Finn started.

“—in a situation right now,” Poe finished. 

“Okay. Okay. I think I feel better now that I know who you are. This is really exciting, um. ...I guess you don’t go by 87 anymore?” 

“Name’s Finn. This is Poe, my uh, my boyfriend.” _It still felt weird to say out loud, sometimes._ “He helped me escape.” 

“I heard rumors of a Resistance pilot. Was that you?”

Poe grinned. “That’s me.” 

“I can't believe you're actually here.” Jek looked back at Finn. “You said you don’t know what this place is?” 

“Followed a tracking signal. Never been to Dachiri before.” 

“Okay. Well, we’re all deserters here, well, most of us,” Jek said. “People that fled the Empire and then the First Order. The First Order really- kind of messed up a lot of us. And you know how much they hate traitors. So that’s why I don’t think anyone here would be helping any kind of First Order thing, or whatever’s left of it.”

“This place has been here since the Empire?” Poe asked. 

“Yeah, the guy who started it- his daughter, Mari, is in charge now, but he was a cargo pilot for the Empire. This was once an Imperial base, but it was only half-finished and then abandoned, it had been there for decades apparently just sitting there.” Jek shrugged “And somehow it just kind of became a safe haven for deserters. Mari can tell you more about it.”

“How did you find this place?” Finn asked. “How did anyone?”

“It was just sort of a rumor among the ranks, at first, something no one really took seriously. but Hops, my squadmate- her friend disappeared during a mission, the official story was that she was killed in a weapons malfunction. But then she found a set of coordinates written under her bunks and she just sort of- knew. A feeling, y’know? We kept hearing rumors about more and more Stormtroopers disappearing and we had just moved into these bunks. So it was two things- we knew it was possible, because you had done it, and we knew there was somewhere to go. Maybe.”

Jek paused, seeming to collect his thoughts, and then continued. 

“I think it’s mostly like that. People who leave find a way to contact people still in there, and they leave hints and stuff, they work on the outside to sneak them out. It’s been different since The First Order fell, obviously. We haven’t had anyone new in a while.”

“Isn’t direct coordinates risky?” Poe asked.

“It’s more complicated. The coordinates lead to an outpost on a different world, and we have friends over there. they’ll give you the encrypted comm channel, and once they vet you, you’ll get the real coordinates. Or something like that,” Jek said, scratching his neck. "I just kind of went along with the whole thing."

“Alright, that makes sense. Sort of," Poe said. It was a lot to take in at once. 

"Is there anyone here that was a higher-up? A commander, maybe?” Finn asked.

“I mostly hang out with my squad so I’m not— I’m not sure," Jek said. "We don’t use old ranks here. Mari would know, though.” 

“Can you take us to Mari?” Finn asked. 

Jek nodded, standing up. "It's not too far of a walk. Can I, um. Can I have my blaster back?"

Finn hesitated a moment but handed it back to him. The man's intentions were as open as a book, and if this was a trap, it was a very odd one. Jek holstered it and gave him a crooked smile.

Finn still had no idea what a seemingly-peaceful community of defectors would need with First Order archival files, but he hoped they would find out soon. It had been a long day, and the exhaustion was starting to set in. 

He turned to Poe and exchanged a quick nod as they followed Jek out of the shed, back into the city of deserters. 


	4. Mari

Finn tentatively trusted Jek, but was still on edge while following him out of the shed and through the base (village?). It felt a bit too much like walking into a trap, but there wasn’t any other obvious path forward. 

The former base certainly didn’t seem geared for any kind of military use. There were no defenses to speak of. The platforms on which Imperial turrets may have once stood were empty, decorated with fading graffiti. Finn noticed more droids roaming the streets as they ventured further into the village, astromechs and other imperial droids that looked to be at least a few decades old. Like the rest of the base, they were far from mint condition, scuffed and patched up with spare parts.

Jek led them to the front of an old building, a structure that looked like it could have been a command center. It had been repainted, parts of the gray coating flaking away to reveal edges of the black Imperial emblems. He walked up the duracrete steps to the porch and grabbed a commlink on the end of a wire. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Mari? We’ve got, uh, some visitors” 

A pause. Finn couldn’t hear what the other side was saying.

“Finn and Poe. They’re, um—” Jek glanced at Finn.

“Resistance generals.” Finn said.

“Resistance generals,” Jek repeated.

A few moments later, the door opened. On the other side was a small, middle-aged woman with brown hair tied in a braid down her back. She was dressed plainly, utilitarian in style. She reminded Finn of Leia, in a way. 

Her eyes glanced quickly between the three of them. She gave them a polite smile tinged with a hint of nervousness, and held out her hand. 

“My name is Mari,” she said, shaking Finn’s hand and then Poe’s. “I see you’ve met Jek already.” They introduced themselves briefly as Mari stepped aside to let them into the building. 

“How can I help you, Generals?” she asked, once they were all inside. 

“We apologize for the sudden intrusion,” Poe said. “Could we speak to you privately?” 

“Yes, of course. Would a conference room work fine?” 

“Yes, that’s fine,” Poe replied. 

They glanced at Jek apologetically. 

“Ah, I’ll see you later then,” Jek said, running his fingers through his hair and turning towards the door. “Come find me tomorrow! We should talk more,” He said, smiling. 

Finn smiled tightly and gave a slight wave as Jek left. The tension in the air seemed to rise a bit as the door closed.

“Right this way,” Mari said, leading them out of the main room and turning a corner into the hallway, almost running into a mouse droid. 

“Oh! Excuse me,” she said, stepping aside. 

The droid beeped apologetically and navigated around them. 

BB-8 turned his head and beeped, voicing Finn’s thoughts out loud. _There are a lot of droids here._

Mary smiled, looking down at BB-8. “Aren’t they great? What’s your name?” 

BB-8 answered happily. 

“BB-8? Nice to meet you, Beebee.” 

Finn glanced at Poe, noting the way he stood a little taller with amusement. Anyone that appreciated BB-8 was trustworthy in Poe’s eyes. 

Mari entered a code on the keypad of one of the doors, which slid open to reveal a fairly standard conference room. There was a long table, and chairs up and down. 

She walked to the other end of the table and sat down with a bit of a sigh. Finn and Poe sat opposite from her.

“What can I do for you?”  
  
“We’re here because of a First Order information base in the Varada sector that was recently accessed. Are you familiar with it?” Poe asked. 

“Yes,” Mari said, her expression revealing nothing. 

“Then you’re aware those databanks are currently down the street from us.”

“Yes, I am,” She said, folding her hands on the table. “I assume you followed a tracking signal here, then?” 

“For the databanks, yeah,” Poe said. “We met—uh, ran into Jek and he told us what this place is. You’re all deserters?”  
  
“Most of us,” Mari said. “There are a few that came before us, and some of us have families. I can tell you the full story later, if it interests you. But I suppose you want to know why we accessed the databanks?”  
  
Finn nodded. “We’ve known about the station for a few months. The Resistance has the actual files. The ones you have are fake, it was set up as a trap. We figured anyone trying to re-start the First Order might try to retrieve those files.”

“That’s smart,” Mari said. “We had a similar thought. That’s why we took the originals instead of making copies.”

She bit her lip, thinking for a moment. Her next words sounded carefully chosen.

“We have no use for any of the military information within those files. I hope it’s clear this is no longer a military base of any kind,” she said. 

She sighed and scratched the side of her head. “Most of us are just trying to live normal lives. But we have a small research team here that wants to hopefully undo some of the harm the First Order did. We’re interested in the process behind reconditioning, and how it can be counteracted.”

Finn suddenly felt cold. 

“Reconditioning?” Poe asked.

“A form of torture Stormtroopers were put through in order to maintain loyalty. A modified version was used on officers as well.”  
  
Mari looked at Poe.

“The problem is, no one remembers reconditioning. Not fully, anyway. The memories are erased, but the subconscious effects remain.”

She sighed again.

“It’s just one part of the larger strategy of indoctrination. The Empire wasn’t like this,” she said, shaking her head. “People left and were able to lead normal lives afterwards. But everyone we get from the First Order has some sort of adjustment issues. Some of the Stormtroopers can barely make decisions on their own.”  
  
“I understand,” Finn said. Poe looked at him curiously. “I never went through reconditioning, but going from that kind of life…” he shrugged. “It’s hard.”

Finn didn’t talk about this often, and it was hard. Every part of a Stormtrooper’s life was strictly regimented, partly for efficiency, and partly, Finn suspected, to render the idea of freedom a foreign concept. 

“You’re a deserter too, then?” Mari asked. 

“Yeah. FN-2187.”

“Ah, the famous one.” Mari grinned at him with tired eyes. “We got a lot of Stormtroopers after Starkiller. You made quite an impression.”

“I had no idea,” Finn said, genuinely. He had hardly met any other Stormtroopers besides Jannah and the rest of Company 77. 

Mari shrugged. “Most defectors fake their own deaths or simply disappear on a mission. It’s all covered up, The First Order wanted to give the impression that no one ever left alive. That’s why you were such a big deal. Stealing a TIE Fighter out in the open… everyone on that ship heard about it, there was no way for them to cover that one up.”

That made sense, Finn thought to himself. He hadn’t heard of any deserters before he left, but he supposed there had to have been some who had employed more subtle means of escape.

Poe broke the silence. “We haven’t been able to decrypt the databanks yet,” He said. “Do you know how?”  
  
“Files like that are multi-layer encrypted,” Mari said. “A commander’s code cylinder can get us part of the way there, but our engineers would need to look at it.”  
  
Poe nodded. “We’ll get them to you.”

Finn yawned, the exhaustion of the day suddenly weighing down on him.  
  
Mari smiled.

“I’d invite you to chat longer, but it’s getting rather late,” she said, standing up. “Will you be staying the night? We have lodging, and we can talk more in the morning and show you around. And I’m sure Jek would love to speak with you more. He loves new people.”  
  
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Finn said. “Thank you for your generosity.”

“Don’t mention it. Follow me.”

Another mouse droid passed them as they exited the conference room. Possibly the same one as before, they looked about the same. 

“Oh yes, the droids,” Mari said, leading them down the hallway. “Did Jek tell you the origin of this place?”  
  
“Sort of. Your father was a cargo pilot?” Poe said.  
  
“He was. After the first Death Star was destroyed, he was promoted and assigned a new mission. The Empire was refocusing their efforts, so he was given a directory of unfinished bases and told to retrieve anything of value. Strip it, take inventory, then burn down the base and purge it from the record.”

“When he got to Dachiri, there were families living here. His orders were to kill anyone he found living in the unused bases. He couldn’t do it, so he fudged some records and faked his death, brought me and my mother here, and we settled in with the families that were already here. I was about ten years old at the time.”

“They didn’t investigate?” Finn asked, surprised.

Mari shrugged. “The Empire wasn’t like the First Order. He marked the Dachiri base as cleaned out and destroyed, and according to the official record, my father died in a shuttle crash several sectors away. They didn’t have time to investigate every death or failed mission.”

“What was I… Oh yeah, the droids. This base was originally going to be a droid research and upgrade center. So they had tons of units in storage, just forgotten about. With my father’s access codes, they were able to set them back up and reprogrammed them to take care of the community.

My father had a few friends that he knew were looking to get out as well, so they worked together to find ways for them to escape. The rumor began to spread, and soon more people came, ever since then it’s remained a sort of haven for deserters. For those that just want to keep their head down and live the rest of their life in peace.”

A black astromech passed them. Mari waved, and the droid whistled happily in response. 

“An important thing to remember about the droids is that they're all re-programmed, and most have been several decades without a memory wipe. So they all have... unique personalities. Often strong ones,” Mari said.

Poe laughed. “BB-8 should fit right in, then.”

She led them to what seemed to be a newer building, at least one built after the rest of the base. There were several similar buildings nearby, about big enough to be a single-family dwelling. 

"This one's empty," she said, walking up the small porch. "We have a lot of space right now. I set you up next to Jek, he's two doors down, lives with his squad,” She said, pointing down the street. “We have a lot of room, but a lot of folks just like living together."

She yawned. "Commissary's that way if you need food, medbay's right by it... Oh! I have an idea."

She waved behind them. 

"Eebee! Could you come here?" 

They heard a beep that sounded like a squeak, and behind them came a small, hovering seeker droid. It was holding a small blue flower in its claw, which it extended proudly to Mari. 

"Is this for me, Eebee? Thank you!" She took the flower from the droid and tucked it behind her ear. "You didn't take this from Mr. Mitaka's garden, did you?" 

The droid beeped indignantly. 

"Just making sure!" Mari replied. "This is Finn and Poe. They're new here. Could you stay with them and answer any questions they might have?"

The droid beeped affirmatively and Mari smiled.

"Thank you, Eebee." 

She turned back to Finn and Poe. 

"Ask her for my comm number if you need it. I'll be in the same place tomorrow morning, Eebee can guide you there if you need help finding it. Sound good?" 

"Yes, of course. Thank you so much," Finn said. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Take care.” She headed off in the direction of the command center.

Poe tried the door, it was unlocked and opened freely. The small apartment was quiet as they stepped inside. There was a small living area, a bedroom, a bathroom, and even a small kitchen.

Finn looked around, curious. It was like a hotel room, as if they were expecting visitors. A thin layer of dust covered the room.

Poe headed straight for the bedroom and fell face-down on the bed, moaning. “What a day, huh?” Finn asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Not what I expected,” Poe said. “But it’s good. You think we can trust them?” 

“I think so. I didn’t get the impression either of them were lying.” 

Poe yawned and was silent for a few moments. “We should move the base to Dachiri,” he said, suddenly. 

“What?” Finn scoffed. 

“Ajan Kloss is a nightmare. And you heard her, they have room.” 

Ajan Kloss had no existing infrastructure, which made it hard to build a permanent base there. They had discussed moving to a different planet, but hadn’t found anything suitable yet.

“We’ve been here less than half a day,” Finn said, taking off his shoes.

“Yeah. Whatever,” Poe said, rolling onto his back and sitting back up. “Does this place have a shower?”

* * *

The shower was only big enough for one of them, unfortunately, so Finn let Poe go first while he sent off a quick update to Rose. When Finn had finished his turn, Poe was already under the covers, curled into himself but not yet asleep. Finn lifted the covers and climbed into bed, snuggling up behind him. He put a gentle hand on Poe’s head and closed his eyes, sending calming energy. Poe’s breathing began to calm.

For a long time after Exogol, Poe had had trouble sleeping, laying awake for hours at night. When he did finally manage to drift off to sleep, he would often wake up screaming and thrashing in the sheets. Finn would calm him down as Poe stared at him, panting, eyes wide with fear as he reassured him that they were safe. 

Inspired by the healing and suggestive powers of the Force, Finn had been experimenting with his newfound powers to calm Poe’s fitful sleep. Poe was apprehensive at first, considering his past experiences with the Force, but he trusted Finn. It wasn’t a cure-all, but Poe’s more violent night terrors had settled and he was typically able to fall asleep within a few minutes, wrapped in Finn’s physical and mental embrace.

If only he could use the same trick on himself, Finn thought. He rarely had nightmares, but his racing anxieties often made it hard to relax enough for sleep, along with the somewhat chaotic schedule he had fallen into. As a stormtrooper, he had a strict sleeping schedule– going to bed at the same night every night, typically exhausted from a day of work or training. It had been hard to adjust. He wondered if the ex-troopers here had the same problem. 

He buried his face into the gentle mess of Poe’s curls and closed his eyes, inhaling the comforting, familiar scent of his shampoo. Poe’s body gently rose and fell with each inhale and exhale, and Finn slowly matched his rhythm, breathing in sync with the man in his arms. 

Despite being exhausted, he still couldn’t fall asleep, simply drifting in and out of consciousness. After about an hour of trying and failing, he gently extracted himself from his embrace of Poe, and slipped out of bed. Maybe a walk would help him clear his mind. 

He slipped back into his clothes and shoes and walked into the living area, where BB-8 and Eebee were softly beeping to each other. They turned to look at him as he exited the bedroom. 

“Hey guys,” he yawned. 

BB-8 beeped inquisitively. 

“Can’t sleep. Gonna go for a walk,” he said, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Poe. 

Eebee beeped back. The droid-run commissary was open at all hours, if he wanted to get a late night snack.

“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” Finn said. He hadn’t eaten in several hours, after all. “Thank you, Eebee.” 

Eebee trilled happily. 

He exited the townhouse and shut the door behind him softly. It was colder, now, and he pulled his jacket tightly across his body. The commissary was nearby, the building was large and easy to recognize.

He wondered what the village looked like with people walking around. Were the people here sociable, or did they keep to themselves? Jek and Mari certainly seemed friendly, but he wondered if some of the Stormtroopers weren't as well-adjusted.

He made his way to the commissary. When he arrived, there was a large door, which he figured probably led to a cafeteria. He was about to make his way inside, when a mechanical voice startled him. 

“I don’t recognize you.” 

“Shit—!” Finn turned around, caught by surprise. A large, humanoid black droid was standing in front of him. 

“I am K6-TF. Are you new here?” 

That must be the KX-series droid Poe had pointed out. Or a similar one. He could see why Poe had been disturbed, the sheer size of the droid was intimidating, towering more than a foot above him. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m new here,” Finn said.

“Do you require assistance?” 

“I’m looking for the food.” 

“I have just the thing. Please wait.” The droid said, walking past him and through the large doors.

“Uh. Okay,” Finn said, waiting.

The droid came back a few minutes later, holding a large box filled with all kinds of food. Fresh veggies, fruits, dry goods, ration packs and several other things, from what Finn could tell. 

“Oh, wow, okay,” Finn said. “How much for all this?” 

The droid wasn’t capable of changing expressions, but it somehow looked confused. “The food is for you, human.” 

“I don’t have to pay for it?”

The droid shoved the box into his hands, seemingly annoyed. “I made this for you.” 

“Oh-um, thank you.” 

“What is your name?” 

“Finn. My name’s Finn.” 

“Nice to meet you, Finn. Goodbye.” 

The droid turned around and walked back into the commissary.

Finn blinked, standing there for a moment before making his way back to the townhouse. Halfway through, he stopped to set the box on the ground and rest for a moment. He wasn’t in bad shape by any means, but the box was heavier than he expected. 

As he stood there stretching his arms, he spotted another figure walking from the other end of the commissary, carrying a similar box. It was hard to see in the dark, but the figure was tall and lanky, and seemed to be struggling with the box. They had a scarf pulled around their neck and a heavy jacket. 

Surprised to see someone else walking around, he paused for a moment. He felt odd, something was familiar about the presence. He felt like he should say something, but what? The person was too far away to speak to. 

The figure seemed to notice him as well, stopping to stare at him. They stood there for a few moments. 

Soon, the other man started walking quicker than before, away from him. Finn felt sad, inexplicably wanting to chase after the man. It was as if the Force was calling after him. 

He shook his head, disturbed by the moment. He has just wanted to get a bite to eat and to clear his mind. Instead, a brief journey out left him with more questions than answers.

When he arrived back at the townhouse, he put the box on the table and picked out a ration pack. He ate it quickly, comforted by the familiarity. Once he was finished eating, he undressed and crawled back into bed, taking care not to disturb Poe.

The other man shifted slightly as Finn slung his arm around his body. Poe’s body heat felt good against his skin, still slightly cold from being outside. Feeling sentimental, suddenly, he kissed the sleeping man’s head as he snuggled behind him. Hunger sated, even his racing mind was no match against the creeping exhaustion, and he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are super appreciated, let me know if you enjoyed ❤️


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